In the fall of 2007, AIDS Calgary Awareness Association relocated to a non-profit complex at 16th Street and 10th Avenue in southwest Calgary. After a year in our new home we would like to take some time to reflect on our successes and our ongoing commitment to the community. Our new location has allowed for several improvements to our service offerings, with the most significant being the opening of the Calgary Cares Centre, which houses all of our client support and outreach programs.
The building itself bears the name Calgary Cares Centre, which reduces barriers to access due to stigma. Other benefits of the new location include: visitor parking, wheelchair accessible and gender neutral bathrooms, a full kitchen for our weekly nutrition programs, client computer/internet access, and easy access via public transportation.
The new Calgary Cares Centre allows us to offer better services to people living with HIV/AIDS. We provide a welcoming community centre format that allows clients living with HIV to socialize and access support, counselling, food, computer/phone, community information, emergency winter clothing, free vitamins, and other items. Every Friday we utilize our kitchen and large eating area to provide a nutritious meal or snack and the opportunity to make peer connections.
We continue to dedicate specific resources to the HIV prevention and education needs of gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM) through our HEAT (HIV Education and Awareness Today) program. The HEAT Outreach Worker provides weekly outreach at GLBT bars, venues, and events. Outreach includes HIV/STI and safer sex education, distribution of informational publications specifically designed for gay men, and free condoms and other safer sex supplies. In the last year, the HEAT program has distributed over 14,000 free condoms and conducted 83 outreach sessions at GLBT bars/events and 43 online outreach sessions.
The work we do from the Calgary Cares Centre is supported by a team of dedicated staff and volunteers. We are always recruiting program volunteers to assist our HEAT worker in promoting HIV/AIDS education through community and online outreach.
If you would like to support the work we do at the Calgary Cares Centre there are many ways for you to get involved. As we approach the holiday season, we are gearing up for our annual Holiday Hamper program. This program provides free hampers of food and personal care items for clients living with HIV/AIDS.
Our new, larger space has allowed us to expand this program. This year we would like to increase the number of hampers we deliver by 40%. The need for hampers grows every year and we are collecting donations to reach our goal of $16,000 to support our hamper program. You can support our efforts by making a donation online at aidscalgary.org. If you prefer to give the gift of time, you can also get involved by volunteering as a delivery driver.
For more information on these and other programs offered at the Calgary Cares Centre please visit our website, contact us AIDS Calgary
Calgary Cares Centre
#110, 1603 10th Avenue SW
(403) 508-2500
info@aidscalgary.org
Amanda Chapman is the Communications Analyst for AIDS Calgary Awareness Association. She can be reached by the Calgary Cares Centre phone number at extension 120.
